In each tournament a player plays for his country first and then self and this pride of playing for the country has a different sentiment altogether. One such prestigious tournament is The Davis Cup which has done different things to different players. We still remember that on Dec.5, 2010 it transformed Serbian player Novak Djokovic’s career. Djokovic guided his team to the historic title victory against France on home turf in Belgrade. This was the beginning of the longest winning streak in the Open Era where Djokovic went ahead to win 43 matches on the trot going back to the Davis Cup final.
Bogdan Obradovic, who was the non-playing captain of the Davis Cup-winning Serbian team in 2010 said when asked, what changed in Novak Djokovic? “The Davis Cup victory helped Novak throw out all the dirty tennis aspects from his game, “All the doubts and negativity were washed away from his mind. The victory triggered that confidence in him where he started believing he can be the champion player he always wanted to be.”
Bogdan further added, “He’s a chess player; he plans his moves well in advance. He was nine when he first came, with his dad Srdjan, to the club in Belgrade where I was a coach. Without even having a word with me, he kept his bag on the sidelines of the court and went for jogging and stretching exercise. Little later, he told me he was ready to go on to court for practice. And when he opened his bag, I was impressed to see that everything was kept neatly. He had extra pair of shoes, socks, shirts and racquets. It was rare to see a nine-year-old to be so organized.”
Serbia made their debut in the Davis cup in June 2006 and they played in the name of Serbia only. Serbia which is a tiny nation of 7 million people to win the most coveted team event in tennis was indeed monumental and this is something which inspires the entire team. This immensity of the achievement can be measured from the fact the tennis legend Roger Fedrer is yet to do this for his country, Switzerland.
Slobodan Zivojinovic, who was president of the Serbian tennis federation when the team lifted the Davis Cup trophy, said “I always felt Novak’s greatest weapon is his mind. But winning Davis Cup is a kind of achievement which gives you the confidence and self-belief that you can achieve anything.”
Zivojinovic, on the sidelines of the India-Serbia Davis Cup tie at the KSLTA courts in Bangalore said, “Tennis is about confidence. The Davis Cup victory completely opened Novak’s mind and he began playing his game with the kind of freedom he hadn’t known before and that brought the difference in him. It made him more hungry as a player.”
